Catheterization treatment of stenosis and hypoplasia of pulmonary arteries

Stenosis of pulmonary arteries is one of the most challenging problems requiring treatment in the care of patients with congenital and acquired cardiopulmonary disease. Surgical approaches have been met with difficulty over the years, and may themselves lead to further distortion of the treated arteries. Balloon dilation first came into use in the 1980s, and has proved moderately effective. Its use has been extended to proximal pulmonary valve stenosis in order to improve distal flow and artery growth in some variants of tetralogy of Fallot. More recently, the judicious application of stent implantation has improved the outlook for pulmonary artery stenosis. The etiology, treatment (with balloon dilation and stent placement), and prognosis of pulmonary arterial stenosis will be discussed.